I was with my friend and colleague, Knut Frostad, who is the President of the Volvo Ocean Race. He is also an avid sailor and himself has participated, as a crew member, in the Volvo Ocean Race.
The race is a nine month sail around the world and covers more than 33,000 miles. During the last race in 2008-2009, we organized stopover events in South Africa, Asia, Latin America, the US, as well as Europe. The 2009 stopover in the US was in Boston, Mass., where close to 30,000 spectators greeted the sailors upon their arrival. We organized several activities together with the Volvo Group North America Business Areas and hosted more than 500 customers at the three-day event. We were honored by the presence of H.M King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. The President and CEO of AB Volvo, Mr. Leif Johansson, also joined the festivities. We combined work and fun in an effective way!
Next year we will be back again! I am so excited to share with you that one of the stopovers in the 2011/2012 Volvo Ocean Race will be Miami, Florida. The sailing boats will arrive in May of 2012 after one of the longest sailing legs from Brazil!
Volvo Ocean Race and our businesses have so much in common. The sailing race is about teamwork and meeting the challenging demands of the natural elements while caring for the environment. The crew strives to take the lead, to sail faster and better than their competitors, to navigate and to select the right course. One small mistake and they lose, but a smart, timely decision and they win! These same values and competitive rules apply to our businesses!
I personally believe that the Volvo Ocean Race is a magnificent opportunity four our businesses to interact with customers and dealers and provide them with a very unique experience. By investing in our customers and through exposing our brands, we establish important groundwork for future business and build partnerships with our customers.
Let’s keep America rolling!
No comments:
Post a Comment